Vitoria de Guimaraes will welcome AVS to the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques in round 20 of the Primeira Liga on Saturday.
The hosts will aim to snap their run of seven games without a win, while relegation-threatened AVS will look to move further away from the drop zone.
Match preview
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Vitoria Guimaraes' last taste of victory was a 4-0 win over Gil Vicente at the start of December 2024; since then, the hosts have recorded five consecutive draws sandwiched between two losses to Benfica and Estoril in their last league outing.
Despite the appointment of Luis Freire, who is their third permanent manager of the 2024-25 season this month, results have not improved for Os Branquinhos.
Lately, the Conquerors have struggled on their turf, managing three back-to-back draws against Nacional (2-2), Sporting Lisbon (4-4), and Arouca (2-2) in front of their fans for the first time since December 2003.
While a top-flight victory has eluded the hosts since December 2, Freire's team are ranked sixth in the home form table – with Porto the only team that came away with a win against them in their territory all season.
However, the hosts are potent in front of goal and are one of the best-attacking teams in the Portuguese top division, having scored 28 this term – a tally surpassed by only four teams.
With a total of 12 goals scored in their last four matches at home, the visitors will have to be at their best to keep the hosts at bay.
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Elsewhere, AVS have struggled to adapt to life in the elite division in their debut season, and despite a managerial change, the visitors are still not far away from the drop zone.
AVS' hierarchy have been ruthless and not afraid to make changes in the dugout to stem the run of unfavourable results; however, the change of guard has yielded little or no dividends.
Daniel Ramos took the reins in mid-November, but he was only able to lead his charges to victory in January – a hard-fought 1-0 win over Gil Vicente in gameweek 19, ending their wait for a first league triumph since September 14.
That result catapulted Ramos's team to 15th in the standings, on 18 points, one more and a place above Estrela, who occupy the relegation playoff spot.
While AVS are yet to claim a win on their travels, they can take encouragement from their 1-0 victory over the hosts in the reverse fixture ahead of this clash.
Team News
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Despite the loss last weekend to Estoril, Freire is likely to name an unchanged starting XI for the visit of AVS.
New signing, Umaro Embalo is available for selection and he could make his debut in the colours of his new team this weekend.
Bruno Gaspar is sidelined due to a muscle injury for the hosts, and so is Gustavo Silva who is also on the mend.
For the visitors, Lucas Piazon could replace Rodrigo Ribeiro and Ze Luis should be a sure bet to start as a lone striker upfront.
Meanwhile, Fernando Fonseca will miss out due to the accumulation of yellow cards, which paves the way for Tomas Tavares to start.
Giorgi Aburjania, who has been on the sidelines for some time is not expected to be a part of the travelling squad.
Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Varela; Mendes, Rivas , Borevkovic, Maga; Handel, Samu, Silva; Santos, Michel, Arcanjo
AVS possible starting lineup:
Simao; Tavares, Teixeira, Devenish, Roux, Rodrigues; Piazon, Assuncao, Grau, Mercado; Luis
We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 1-0 AVS
Although AVS have struggled this season, they have been difficult to beat, losing only one of their last five matches.
However, given that Vitoria Guimaraes will be playing in their territory, we reckon a slim 1-0 win for the hosts.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
